Retribution

==========

Scene 1

Off Camera

==========

Angelica Jones had hoped that the IWC Last Stand 2 event would be a successful night for her family.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be lackluster at best.  Sure, her oldest child, “The Phoenix” Marie Annabelle Jones, won the IWC World Tag Team Championships with Brittany Lohan, bringing championship gold back to Silas World, but that would be the only success of the night.  Her middle daughter, Jessica Lasiewicz, would go on to lose the IWC Queen of the Ring Championship.  And none of them, Marie nor Jessica and not even the matriarch of the family Angelica Jones would win the Last Stand Rumble itself.  To say it was a rather disappointing night would be an understatement.

“Completely and totally UNFAIR!”

This is the disgruntled voice of the eldest Jones girl, Marie, as she paces up and down in her dressing room.  She just returned from ringside area after Katelyn Buehler came into the rumble a second time and won it, lastly eliminating Marie and Serenity.  She is justifiably upset.  Normally one does not get multiple opportunities in the rumble, and yet Buehler took two.  Marie, Jessica, and Angelica only had one opportunity in the rumble.  They didn't get to return to the ring for a second straight time.

The Dragon watches as her daughter paces the floor and growls, shouts at times, in a frustrated act of venting, letting out all of her angst of the night.  Angelica understands and wishes she could do something to help her, she wishes she could make it right, but she knows that tonight is over and done with.  She knows that as her time making a cameo appearance for IWC Last stand 2 has come to a close that she now must put her focus back on her primary objective, and that is winning The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament and becoming the new SCW Adrenaline Champion.

You may think Angelica to be a hypocrite for being outraged over the way Buehler won Last Stand, knowing how Angelica herself managed to advance in the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament.  Angelica would disagree with you, though.  Everything Angelica did, in her warped mind at least, was completely within the rules.  Angelica was attacked during her tournament matches, make no matter that she convinced them through bribery to attack her, the fact is that she was attacked and those attacks led to her opponents getting disqualified each and every time.  With each disqualification victory Angelica would add two more points to her standings in the tournament, but the real icing on the cake was her final match against Selena Frost.

Animosity had been brewing between the Ice Queen and The Dragon for quite some time heading into this match.  Frost seemed to want to play not only the role of hero but also the role of spoiler to try and keep Jones out of the semi-finals.  A victory over The Dragon would have gotten the job done.  But in the end it was Jones who got the dupe.

Not quite.  The match ended in a draw, which still allowed Jones to advance due to a Merrick Wiseman loss to Chris Cannon, which can also be attributed to Jones herself who injured Wiseman's arm.  But what brought a smile to Angelica's face was the fact that Selena did tap out.  Granted it was half of a second after the time had expired, but the mere fact that Selena did tap out to Angelica's vaunted Angel's Arch is something that Frost cannot deny and it is clear evidence to the world that Angelica is the superior athlete.

At least she was on that night.

Now comes round two between Angelica and Selena as the two of them prepare to meet in the Shot of Adrenaline semi-finals.  For Angelica, beating Selena within an inch of her life would be quite satisfying but that is not her primary goal for this tournament.  Angelica's entire purpose for entering Shot of Adrenaline, from the very beginning when she first did battle with Chris Cannon, was to silence her critics and prove that she could still get it done, even in Supreme Championship Wrestling.

That's why Angelica put her career on the line.  That's why she declared that if she did not make it to the semi-finals that she would quit SCW, never to return.  In her mind if she couldn't manage to make it to the semi-finals then that was a sign to her that she was done, that she should hang it up.  But Jones did make it.  Saving her SCW career and, maybe, silencing some of her critics.

The quest isn't over.

Now that the semi-finals have finally arrived Angelica can take the ultimate step in cementing herself and her legacy in SCW.  She can take the ultimate step in writing her name in SCW's history book if she can defeat Selena Frost in the semi-finals and then go on the finals to defeat either Dawn Lohan or Red Rayne to win the tournament and the Adrenaline Championship.

All of this to be accomplished at SCW Retribution and to accomplish this she will have to be prepared to wrestle and win twice in one night against two very game individuals in Frost and either Dawn or Rayne.  Endurance and stamina will be required to pull off such a feat so, in a way, IWC Last Stand 2 was not a total loss.  If nothing else, competing in this annual rumble match was a good way to prepare Angelica for the grueling wars that she will have to go through at SCW Retribution in order to complete the quest, to win Shot of Adrenaline, and take home the gold.

“It will be fine, Marie.” Angelica says in a vain attempt to calm her frustrated daughter down.

“It will NOT be fine!” Marie shouts, almost like a petulant child who did not get her way. “I was cheated!  I was screwed!  I should have won the rumble!”

“You or Abigail one.” Angelica retorts.

“Yes, one of us!”

“But at least you and Brittany won the tag team championships.” Angelica offers, hoping this will sooth her, but unfortunately it offers zero condolences.

“Yes, I have gold, but NOT what I really wanted.” She places her hands on her hips. “I should have a shot at the world championship.  How the hell is this going to be remedied?”

“Honestly?” Angelica walks over and places her hands on Marie's shoulders. “I think you should trust Silas on this one.”

“Silas?”

Angelica nods her head. “This sounds like it could become a legal issue.  That is Silas's field of expertise, not mine.  If he can get you into the Invictus main event, if he can reverse this, he will.  Otherwise, just roll with it.”

“That's easy for you to say.” She frowns and lowers her head in almost a pouting manner. “At least you still can become champion in SCW.”

The Phoenix of IWC is referring, of course, to The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament which Angelica plans to finish out coming up next week at Retribution.  And yes, Angelica did make it to the semi-finals, which puts The Dragon one step closer to the Adrenaline Championship.  Winning it won't be easy, though, as she has to go through two people, two matches in one night, in order to win it all.

“Retribution is different, Marie.” Angelica answers slowly. “And Shot of Adrenaline is a completely different animal from The Last Stand Rumble.”

She holds up seven fingers. “I had to wrestle seven times in seven different matches.  Tonight we just had to survive.  I made it to the semi-finals of Shot of Adrenaline and now I can potentially win it all with two more matches...just two...”

The Dragon smirks. “What I did is above and beyond anything that pasty faced bitch will ever do.”

“You speak as if you've already won.”

“I may as well.” Jones answers back. “I love the Lohan family to death, but Dawnie is still confused and befuddled as ever.   Her opponent is the only threat I see, and that's Red Rayne.  Red will bring out the worst in me.  But I think The Dragon can handle her.  As for Selena...”

Another evil glimmer enters her eye. “I already made her tap out once, Marie.  I'll make her tap out again.”

“Speaking of the snow bitch,” Marie snickers “I bet seeing her tap out again will lift Jessica's spirits.”

The mere mention of Jessica's name lights up light bulbs in Angelica's head.  Out of everything that has happened recently, from Last Stand to Shot of Adrenaline, the one thing, the one person, that slipped her mind turned out to be, in a terrible twist of irony, Jessica Lasiewicz, her middle daughter.  The irony it this is that Jessica had been, for the longest time, the daughter that Angelica forgot.  Angelica put so much time and energy into healing the relationship with Marie that she forgot to put any attention into her relationship with Jessica.

Selena Frost has been a mutual enemy of Angelica and Jessica for quite awhile.  Jessica doesn't like the snow queen because she doubted her sincerity during her run in IWC.  Angelica doesn't like Frost mainly because she just plain gets on her nerves.  She is a nuisance that seemingly exists just to piss of Angelica.  Making her tap out on Breakdown to earn a spot in the semi-finals felt wonderful.  Beating her a second time would be even better.

Selena Frost, The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament, and even Marie's griping about the end of the Last Stand Rumble all need to be put on the back burner as Angelica realizes that her top priority lies, primarily with her other daughter; Jessica.

Angelica turns to walk towards the door. “I need to speak with Jessica.”

“What about me?!”

Angelica rolls her eyes. “Marie, darling, you may not have won the rumble, but you won the world tag team titles.  Be thankful.  Your sister was screwed out of the queen of the ring championship and on top of that she was also cheated by Buehler in the rumble.  Jessica didn't get to enter multiple times the way Buehler did.  I think Jessica needs me more than you need me right now.”

Marie sighs and waves her off. “Alright, alright, fine...whatever...”

“Sorry, Marie.”

With that Angelica pushes her way out of the door and out into the hallway area of the backstage.  The area is beginning to empty as more and more people start to leave the arena.  Jessica would not have shared a Silas World dressing room with Angelica and Marie.  Angelica knows this and sets to work tracking down her middle daughter.  The red head walks the halls, looking at the door markers until she comes across one that reads “Jessica Lasiewicz”.  Angelica smiles as she pushes it open and then steps inside.

“Jess?” She notices her daughter, the raven-haired Polish beauty, alone in her dressing room, sitting against a wall on a bench. “Hi, Jess...”

Jessica doesn't hear her mother at first.  “Jessica?”

“Huh?” She looks up and turns to face Angelica. “Oh...hi...”

“May I come in?”

“Sure.”

Angelica walks in, shutting the door behind her.  Jessica scoots over to allow Angelica room on the bench.  Jones sits down next to Lasiewicz.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

Angelica sighs. “Look, Jess, I know how it must feel...”

“Do you?” Jessica snaps back. “You have Silas World backing you up.  I have nobody.”

“That's not true.” Angelica wraps an arm around her daughter's shoulder. “You will always have me.  Silas World or no, you will always have me.”

“And yet that is never enough.” Jessica says, her voice trailing off. “No matter what I do, it's never enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not only is my sister still a member of Silas World but it's more powerful than ever with the recent championships they added to their stable.  And no matter where I turn I have Slay Revolution on my ass, keeping me distracted from my goal of eliminating them.  So no, mother, it really isn't enough and having you around really is never enough.”

Jessica sighs. “Especially not when you are a member of Silas World yourself.”

Angelica takes her daughter's chin and guides it over so that she is looking directly into her own eyes.

“Tell me, Jess, what is it that's really bothering you?”

Lasiewicz shrugs. “I don't know, I guess...I guess that I thought saving IWC was worthwhile, I thought saving Marie from Silas Mason was worthwhile.”

“First of all, your sister doesn't need saving from Silas Mason.” Angelica responds. “Silas is the best thing to happen to her career.”

“How do you argue that, mom?” Jessica snaps back angrily.

“She won the world tag team titles tonight.  Enough said.”

“And he enslaves people.”

Angelica shakes her head. “I don't want to have this discussion with you, Jess, not about Silas.  Not when this has nothing to do with Silas.”

“Oh so this has NOTHING to do with Silas now?” Jessica asks skeptically. “Silas World's biggest cheerleader says this has nothing to do with Silas?”

“Our biggest cheerleader is B.Real...get it right.” Angelica chuckles. “And no, this doesn't have anything to do with him.”

“Then what is this about?”

“This is about a solution...a possible solution to all of your problems.”

Jessica shakes her head. “I'm not signing with Silas Mason.”

“I don't want you to sign with Silas Mason.” Angelica states. “I want you to sign with Supreme Championship Wrestling.”

==========

Marie Jones

On Camera

==========

Hello and a great big #GingerWelcome from the co-founder of #GingerNation, one half of the Ginger Frontier Crown World Tag Team Champions, and the newly crowned IWC Ginger Tag Team Champion, Marie Annabelle Jones!

We gingers gotta stick together and stick up for our own and family has to stick together too, that's what makes this doubly important that I preach my support for my mother, the great #GingerDragon herself Angelica Jones, up to the high heavens!

I mean, it was academic when the tournament brackets were announced for SCW's Shot of Adrenaline Tournament that a ginger would win it all, and it was even more clear who that would be when my mother was announced as one of the competitors.

Angelica Jones has taken SCW and this Shot of Adrenaline Tournament by storm.  Angelica has single handedly defined Shot of Adrenaline with the grace, courage, and wrestling PURITY with which has competed.

Now some sore LOSERS...Merrick Wiseman...would have you believe that she somehow cheated her way to this spot, but Angelica Jones did NOTHING wrong!  We gingers always play by the rules.  Then there are still others who are so full of themselves, so egomaniacal, that they just can't take it when they are outclassed and outshined.

#GingerNation doesn't have an arrogant bone in its body and neither does my mother.

I will tell you who DOES have quite an arrogant streak, one covered in snow, and that's Selena Frost.

Selena THINKS she is the Queen of the Adrenaline division?  She THINKS she is the Queen of the Queen of the Ring division?  She can THINK all she wants but at the end of the day she is just living in a fantasy dreamworld, one that will be torn down and taken apart, piece by piece, by the uncontrollable, unstoppable Dragon of SCW.

Frost should know that it's all over for her.  My mother already made her tap out once in this tournament.  Now she'll get the chance to do it again.  She'll force Selena Frost to tap out...to give up on her dreams...to give up on her true believers...to give up on the Adrenaline Championship.

And THAT is a #GingerPromise!

==========

Jessica Lasiewicz

On Camera

==========

Let me get one thing out of the way right now: I am NOT a fan of Silas World.  I do not like them.  I would rather see that entire stable fall into the ocean, fall of the face of the earth.  Silas World can burn in hell.

That being said, I think I can overlook my hatred for Silas World for this one time only for two obvious reasons: I can't help but love my mother and also because I detest everything Selena Frost stands for.

I still haven't forgotten how she said I was selfish for wanting to focus on saving my family rather than try to promote the IWC women's division.  I think the only selfish one is the one who WOULD ignore family in favor of taking a championship and I can honestly say my mother Angelica Jones would not do that.

But you, Selena, seem hell bent on raising your own price tag, your own reputation through this tournament and through IWC's women's division?  And yet YOU say I'm the selfish one?

Look in the mirror, Elsa.  Just look in the damn mirror.

Yes, look in the mirror because that face of yours will not be the way it is for very long.  My mother is one of the most sadistic wrestlers in this industry and she is ready to tear you apart.

After that I don't really care.  I'm not sure anyone left in this tournament is all that pure, or justified, or good.  Definitely not Red Rayne.  Whoever wins in the finals...congratulations to them.  But in the semi-finals, as long as Angelica Jones walks away the winner, casting Selena Frost out into outer darkness...I'll be happy.

==========

Angelica Jones

On Camera

==========

The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament has been a gauntlet of endurance and stamina up until this point, with all four of us who remain, all of us having competed in seven different matches against seven different opponents just to earn this spot in the semi-finals.  And now those semi-finals have finally arrived.  Now the time has come for Retribution.

Retribution will be the time in The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament where the men are separated from the boys...

...well, maybe I should say girls separated from the women?  Heh...

No longer do we have one week or more to prepare for this match.  It's going to be two matches in one night.  The semi-finals and the finals all in one night.  Few superstars in our industry can gloat about being able to wrestle and win twice in one night.

I can.  I've done it before.  Piece of cake.  I can do it again.

But the reality that each of us face is that we are only guaranteed the semi-finals.  We have to earn the finals.  So right now I'm going to focus on the one opponent I am guaranteed...

Hi there, Selena!  Remember me?

I certainly remember you.  I remember you as the poor, lowly little bitch lying beaten and broken at my feet.  I remember you as the weak little girl who tapped out on Breakdown.

I remember you as Selena Frost the great hypocrite.

You are a hypocrite because you declare to your fans to believe...you tell them to believe in you and yet you did not believe enough in them to fight for them.  You proved yourself to be a hypocrite and a coward by giving up on them, instead of fighting on you chose to tap out to me.

That's nothing to be ashamed of.  Many have tapped out to the Angel's Arch.  It is a very painful hold as you now know all too well.  But don't you dare try and hold yourself up as better than me and everyone else and don't you dare try and tell every one of those idiotic fans to “believe it” when you yourself have given them NO REASON to believe in anything...

…except for one thing.

They can believe that Selena Frost is a quitter.  They can believe that Selena Frost gives up on those she claims she cares about, who mean the most to her.

You, Selena, are a quitter.

But me?  I have never given up.  Even during the lowest of the lows of my career I continued to fight on for those who REALLY cared about me, not the fans as you so pompously do.  I continued to fight and I continued to build up my legacy up until this point, this night at Retribution where I will enter the semi-finals of Shot of Adrenaline with the opportunity to win it all and become SCW Adrenaline Champion.

Quitters don't belong in this industry, Selena.   Neither do you.  So just get out of my way and allow a winner to advance forward, allow a real competitor to reach forward and take what is rightfully hers.

Get out of my way, Selena.  Shot of Adrenaline is mine for the taking.  You are merely an afterthought.

==========

Scene 2

Off Camera

==========

People think they know Angelica Jones.  They think they know her quite well and they think they can judge her quite easily as a villain in today’s world.  And truth be told, she is not a good person.  Angelica, however, never once claimed to be a good person.  She never claimed to be honest.  She never claimed to be the type of person who plays by the rules.  Angelica Jones has and always will be the type of person who does whatever she wants, whenever she wants.  She is and always will be the type of person who knows what she wants and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

It should come to no surprise, then, that if she declared she wanted to win The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament and thus become SCW Adrenaline Champion that she would do anything and everything within her power to achieve that ultimate goal.  There would be no line she would not cross and no proverbial envelopes she would not push in order to get ahead of the other competitors in the tournament.

Another thing you need to know about Angelica Jones is that she considers herself to be one of the ultimate students of this game and one of the dirtiest as well.  Jones knows every dirty trick in the book and invented some of them herself.  So of course Angelica would be the one who would come up with an idea as brilliant as to get herself attacked in the middle of her Shot of Adrenaline Matches, because the referee would then have no choice but to disqualify her opponent and declare her the winner.

Was it dishonest?  Definitely.  But was it within the rules?  Yes.

SCW Management tried to do something about it by crowning Merrick Wiseman king of the replay truck but not even that would stop Angelica Jones from entering the semi-finals of Shot of Adrenaline.  Not even that would keep The Dragon of Silas World from going to Retribution with the chance to become SCW Adrenaline Champion.  And you had better believe that Jones will do everything she can  Retribution, that she will pull out all of the stops, in order to hopefully win it all and walk away the winner of this first of its kind tournament.

But as much as she would do in order to further her own wrestling career, she would do even more for her daughters and that is where people do, indeed, misjudge the Boston native.  She may not be the biggest hero to walk the earth, she may even be considered a villain in professional wrestling circles, but she will walk through hell itself for her daughters.

When her eldest child, Marie, came to her complaining about how her professional relationship with Samantha Hodgson was getting her nowhere, Angelica led her to Silas Mason, with the promise that he would take her places.  Since then Angelica’s eldest child has been a former GCW Global Heavyweight Champion, GFC World Tag Team Champion, and now IWC World Tag Team Champion.

Now Jessica Lasiewicz, Angelica’s middle child, has come to her mother with similar professional problems, only these are on a much grander scale than simply a managerial issue.  Angelica saw the problem instantly as one dealing with the entire company itself, not just who her manager was or wasn’t.

Plus there was the added fact that Jessica is vehemently opposed to anything and everything Silas Mason.  In IWC, Jessica had made it her mission to try and convince her sister Marie to leave Silas World but the elder child would hear nothing of it.

As much as Angelica would have loved to have had her family united under one Silas World roof, she knew that it would not happen and, truth be told, it probably was for the best.  Silas Mason isn’t the person Jessica needs right now.  Jessica just needs herself and she needs a new company.

So she sent her daughter to Supreme Championship Wrestling.

We open in the luxurious hotel suite in Houston, Texas where The Dragon is staying.  Not too far from here, and not long from now, SCW will host its Retribution pay per view event , the night she will be competing in the semi-finals (and hopefully finals) of the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament.  At least she knows she will have support and not just from Silas World.  Thanks to her encouragement, she will have her daughter Jessica backstage, watching from afar.  Cheering her on.

Angelica is grinning from ear to ear, proud of her accomplishment as she lies in her bed popping grapes into her mouth.  If only solving all of her family problems were this easy.  If they were, she would also solve those of her cousin Monroe.

She has tried to forget about Monroe ever since he told her his side of the story regarding Katrina, the underage girl with whom both Monroe and Thaddeus had relations with.  Monroe claims his was consensual while Thaddeus raped her.  Isabelle Jones, Monroe’s sister, claims that Katrina was Thaddeus’s daughter, and that Thaddeus did NOT have a relationship at all with her.

Lately Jones has been trying to avoid Isabelle, though she knows that she cannot avoid her forever.  Eventually Isabelle will catch up to her and Angelica will have to once again try to fix a family problem.  But then again, after her success with Jessica, maybe Angelica should keep this lucky streak rolling and fix more of her family issues while she still can?

At this time the Boston native can hear a tinkling noise coming from her cell phone.  She reaches over and picks it up and turns it on to see who it is…she sighs…

“…Isabelle…”

She reaches over and places the phone back down.  The text message told her that she was on her way over.  Once again, this mysterious and somewhat conniving member of the Jones family has snuck up on Angelica.

Jones swings her feet over off the bed and then stands up.  She walks over to the mini fridge and places the g rapes inside.  That’s when she hears the knocking at her door…

“Who is that?”

Angelica is curious as she walks over the door and opens it.  She is even more surprised to find Isabelle standing there.

“Isabelle!” She exclaims. “What are you doing here?!”

“Something wrong?” She asks innocently. “I did tell you that I was coming, did I not?”

“Yes, but…” she sighs “…that was barely a minute ago!”

She smiles wryly. “I never said WHEN I would be here.”

The Dragon is thoroughly frustrated right now.  It seems that no matter what, Isabelle just always seems to catch her off guard.  And perhaps that is her plan?  Perhaps Isabelle prefers Angelica to be unprepared, not ready for her advancements?    Perhaps that is the only way Isabelle can get one over on Angelica?  Nevertheless, she is here now and Angelica just has to be extra cautious.

“Come on in.”

Jones steps aside to allow her cousin access to the room, which she so graciously accepts as she steps past Angelica and into the luxurious suite.  Isabelle studies the surroundings as Angelica steps inside, shutting the door behind her.  Isabelle then turns to face her cousin.

“Good job.”

“Good job?”

“Yes, good job on this…” she motions to the room “…lovely place.”

“Yeah, well, I had to stay somewhere right?”

“Oh but of course, I’m sure SCW provides ALL of its athletes with grandiose accommodations such as this, right?  No, wait, maybe it’s Silas Mason’s big fat ego providing this for you?”

Isabelle watches Angelica for a few moments before chuckling. “No?  That’s right…”

She points a long slender finger at Angelica. “You bought all of this for yourself.”

“Is there a problem with that?” Angelica asks.

“Not at all.” Isabelle remarks, shaking her head. “Only the best for us Jones women.”

Angelica sighs, ignoring her cousin’s flaunting and ranting as she walks over and lies back down on the bed.

“Grapes are in the mini-fridge if you’re hungry.”

“I am fine, but…” she walks over ever-so-gracefully to the mini-fridge and pops it open, taking out the grapes “…I cannot say no to grapes.”

Isabelle, with grapes in hand, makes her way over to the bed Angelica is lying on.  The Dragon pulls her feet up to allow Isabelle room to sit down on the edge.  Isabelle does indeed sit down on the edge after nodding in appreciation.

“What is it that you want this time, Isabelle?”

“Do I have to want something every single time I visit my dear cousin?”

Angelica frowns, looking on skeptically. “Isabelle, you have yet to visit me just for the sake of visiting.  You have ALWAYS had an agenda.”

“My agenda in our previous visits was simply to set the record straight about me and Monroe and to show you that you and I are not all that different.”

“Why?” Angelica asks. “For what purpose?”

“These are wonderful grapes.” Isabelle says nonchalantly after popping one into her mouth. “Excellent taste.”

“Don’t change the subject.” Angelica quickly sits up, folding her feet under her. “What is your obsession with me lately?”

Isabelle sighs and, for once, seems to be legit, she seems to be sincere. “My family is all but dead and gone.  It’s just me and Monroe now and he hates me…”

“You are partially to blame for that…”

Isabelle nods her head. “True, but knowing that doesn’t ease the pain.  I thought that maybe I could fix things between you and Kayla but your sister hates me just as much as Monroe, maybe even more.  She won’t let me anywhere near Paige and Duncan.”

She turns to face Angelica. “I thought I could get you to listen to me.  At least you do let me see your children.”

“Not that I have a choice.” Angelica remarks. “Kelly is a teen but the other two are adults, they make their own choices now.”

“Ah yes,” Isabelle remarks quietly “Marie and Jessica.  How is young Jessica anyway?”

“She’s fine.” Angelica responds quickly, shortly. “Why?”

“Oh I just heard that you convinced her to join you in Supreme Championship Wrestling.” A smirk forms on her face. “Tell me, Angelica, why is it that you didn’t try and lure her to Silas World the same way you lured Marie?”

“I didn’t lure Marie!” Angelica snaps back at her cousin angrily, indignantly. “Marie had asked me about Silas.  Marie had expressed interest in Silas World.”

“Is this true?” Isabelle asks, somewhat playfully.

“Damn right it is!” Angelica exclaims. “She wanted me to stay out of her business unless SHE asked for my help.  Then SHE asked about Silas…”

“Fair enough.  And Jessica?”

“Jessica does not want to be a part of Silas World.  I would never pressure to join, just as I did not pressure Marie to join.  All Jessica wanted was a way out of her problems in IWC and I gave her an out.”

Isabelle shuts her eyes, not tightly but shuts them nevertheless, and lets out a sigh. “That’s what I like about us Jones women…we always respect the wishes of our own…”

Angelica studies her curiously. “What do you mean by that?”

Isabelle opens her eyes back up. “Why, I am referring to my dear brother Monroe of course.”

Angelica frowns. “Isabelle…not this again…”

“With all due respect you need to hear this, you need to hear about how Monroe really and truly is.”

“No, I don’t.” Angelica shakes her head. “I don’t need to hear anything else because Monroe already told me everything.”

Isabelle arches her brow. “Oh he told you, did he?”

“Yes, he told me all about Katrina and how he and Thaddeus both had relations with the girl.”  Angelica shakes her head. “It was disgusting, it was wrong to do that to a minor, but according to Monroe, Thaddeus is no more of an innocent than Monroe was!”

“Oh and that’s where you’re wrong, dear cousin.” Isabelle remarks. “Monroe is the guilty party here.”

“How?!” Angelica exclaims. “They both raped the girl!”

Isabelle rears back and slaps her across the cheek. “No…”

Angelica rubs her cheek t o ease the sting. “…did you just slap me?”

“I’m sorry, dear cousin, but your accusation drove me slightly…unstable…”

“It’s not just an accusation.” Angelica remarks. “It’s fact.”

“So says Monroe.”

“Do you have any evidence to prove otherwise?”

Isabelle smiles knowingly. “Why, of course I do…”

“I’d love to hear it.”

Isabelle sighs. “And I will…unfortunately it will have to wait until I can find her baby pictures.”

“Baby pictures?”

“Yes…her baby pictures…most mothers have pictures of their beloved children.”

==========

Isabelle Jones

On Camera

==========

I have to admit that my dear cousin has really been quite the mastermind as she works her way through this Shot of Adrenaline Tournament.  She has proven that you don’t necessarily have to be the most talented each and every night…

…you just have to be the most intelligent.

Poor, poor, Selena Frost thinks that Angelica cheated her way to this semi-final spot, does she?  So what if she did?  The fact is that Angelica made Selena tap out, even if it was a fraction of a second after the time ran out.  So what if Angelica hurt Merrick Wiseman’s arm?  The fact is that he lost to Chris Cannon, allowing Angelica to advance to the semi-finals.

If you think this is such a miscarriage of justice, then shut up and do something about it.

But that’s the real problem, isn’t it Frosty?  You know, deep down inside, that you CAN’T do anything about it.  You know that you CAN’T beat Angelica Jones.

Selena Frost’s fate is already written.  I hope you two are watching and listening very closely, Red Rayne, Dawn Lohan.  But not to me, who am I to tell you anything?  I am not even a wrestler.

Watch and listen to Angelica Jones.  The woman who has proven not just to be one of the top talents in this industry but has also proven to be among the most intelligent, cerebral, strategic fighters in this sport today.  Fight as hard as you wish, throw everything you can, kitchen sink included, but know that the end of the day Angelica will outthink you.

She will win.

==========

Angelica Jones

On Camera

==========

A spotlight comes on suddenly shining down on a red curtain that is drawn closed over a brown wood stage.  Just then what sounds like tap dancing can be heard.  The tapping of the tap dance shoes can be heard getting closer and closer, louder and louder, until finally the feminine figure of the red-headed Dragon Angelica Jones comes tap-dancing into view, wearing a black and white female magician’s uniform complete with a black cape with a red inside lining.  She tap dances to the center of the stage where she stops.

“TA-DA!” Angelica grins from ear to ear. “See?  I’m good at everything, even tap-dancing.”

She taps her shoe to the floor, creating more of the tapping sounds. “Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap, Tappity, Tap, Tap Tap!”

She takes her right hand and slaps it against her open left palm. “TAP! TAP! TAP!”

Jones points to the camera. “YOU TAPPED OUT!”

“I own your soul, Frost.  I own your soul because YOU…TAPPED…OUT!  It’s something you cannot take away, it’s something you cannot pretend never existed.  BELIEVE IT, SISTAH, because you and I did battle and we fought until the time ran out and when it did, oh when it did, you couldn’t take it anymore.  You admitted that you were bested by the better competitor that night.”

She points at herself. “Me…”

“And yet all you do is whine, bitch, and moan about how I almost cost poor Merrick Wiseman his career.” She balls up her fists and puts them to her eyes in a mock crying motion. “Boo hoo, poor Merrick!”

She smirks, shaking her head. “Big deal.  Merrick Wiseman was WARNED not to get in my way.  He was WARNED of the consequences that would follow if he tried to screw with me.  And he damn sure paid the price.”

“Just like Merrick, though, you still seem to lack an understanding.  You don’t seem to grasp something here.  I know I am good enough to beat all those idiots in the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament.  You don’t have to tell me anything that I don’t already know.  But why should I waste my precious time and energy when I can get it oh so much easier by utilizing the best, the greatest, the number one weapon at my disposal.”

She taps her head. “My brain.  God gifted humanity with a mind, a brilliant mind and yet most of the apes on this pathetic lump of a planet are too damn lazy to even bother using it.  They would just assume use brute force, brawn, to get the job done when BRAINS works much better.”

The Dragon smirks. “And you can’t deny it, because it got me to where I am today.”

“You are NOT my biggest threat, Elsa.” Jones shakes her head. “Far from it.  I made you tap out, little girl.  I own you.  You now have the burden of proof.  You are the one with the pressure on her back.  You tapped out to me and the world saw it, the world knows it, your precious believers saw you GIVE UP ON THEM by tapping out to the vaunted Angel’s Arch.  Up until that point you had never even come close to actually losing.  Don’t cite Cannon either.  You were viewed by many as invincible.  The Angel’s Arch tore that veil of invincibility away and revealed you to be weak, and more importantly inferior to me.  It is up to YOU to prove otherwise.”

Jones shakes her head. “You already ARE a failure, Selena.  You FAILED your true believers when you tapped out to me and you’ll fail them again at Retribution.  And you talk about FAILING Dawn Lohan and Red Rayne?”

Angelica fights back the first few chuckles but then an extreme burst of laughter gets out.  She doubles over in laughter for a few moments before standing back up.

“Dawn may care about you failing…but do you honestly think Red Rayne gives two shits about whether or not you failed her?  Quit living in your fantasy world, Selena, no one is buying it except for you.  Dawn, I gather, would still very much love to shove her foot up your pathetic ass…”

She grins “…too bad, Dawnie, you’re not gonna get to do that because I’m going to finish Frosty The Snow Bitch.”

“But Dawn, if it is you and me in the finals then it will be my supreme honor and privilege to compete against you.  Our two families have a storied history together, some good, some bad, sometimes we’re unified and strong, other times we’re like a rackety old bridge that could fall at the slightest bump.”

“Whatever you feel about me is irrelevant.  I respect you, Dawn, and I am proud to see how far you’ve come since MCW and GDW.  You are on the verge of true greatness, of legendary status….” a knowing grin forms upon her face “…and to win this tournament, you’ll have to outlast a legend.”

“Are you ready for what is to come, Dawn?  Are you ready to face The Dragon?  Because you know what I am capable of and you know that I will NOT hold back.  Not when I am so close to winning The Shot of Adrenaline Tournament.  Selena Frost…and you…will feel the wrath of The Dragon at Retribution.”

“Or maybe it won’t be you?” She shrugs. “Maybe it’ll be the person Selena claims she is fighting for…Red Rayne!”

Angelica chuckles again. “Does it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know that Selena is fighting for yo u?”

“Right, I didn’t think so either, but I do think that together, you and I in the finals of Retribution could create oh so much glorious carnage!  Blood would pore, bones would break, we could maim one another and oh how much fun would it be!”

A sinister grin forms upon her face. “Only you, Red, could potentially bring out everything that is dark, rotten, and evil within The Dragon.  Only you can bring out the worst in me and I look forward to it.  If you defeat Dawn and advance to face me in the finals…because let’s face it, Frosty isn’t gonna make it…then bring your worst, bring your most extreme, Red.  Because I am bringing out MY worst.  I am bringing The Dragon.”

“Dawn…Red…I’ll be seeing one of you in the finals.  As for you, Selena, unless you provoke me then I will allow you to walk away…simply so that you can sit there and watch the finals, so you can watch greatness in action.  You’ll get to experience greatness in action when I defeat you in the semi-finals, when I make you TAP OUT!”

She taps her shoes again. “TAPPITY TAPPITY TAP TAP!”

“When I make you TAP OUT again, when I prove to the world and most importantly to YOU that I OWN YOUR SOUL, I will let you walk away so that you can still watch greatness in action, so you can watch greatness go on to defeat either Dawn Lohan or Red Rayne to become the new SCW Adrenaline Champion.”

She winks at the camera. “Believe it, sweetheart!”

Angelica begins to tap dance off stage, stage left, and once she is out of sight the red curtain closes behind her.